Chapter One: Arkham Asylum
by Jokcrs
Summary: I was overwhelmed with anxiety, but I made it my best effort not to show my overbearing mixture of fear and excitement seeing as I was surrounded by psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics, murders, and not to mention the clown himself. He was all of the above, the basest of the bad, the prince of crime. He was the reason I was here...


Arkham asylum

I walked through the excessively secured doors of Arkham asylum, surpassing the armed men wearing black uniforms that made them look like members of a swat team. My bright red heals clunked against the white tiled floor with each step I took. My hands were clammy, and my heart thudded inside my chest.

I was overwhelmed with anxiety, but I made it my best effort not to show my overbearing mixture of fear and excitement seeing as I was surrounded by psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics, murders, and not to mention the clown himself. He was all of the above, the basest of the bad, the prince of crime. He was the reason I was here...

I made my up to the reception desk, and grabbed the attention of the sweet looking old lady filing paperwork.

"Excuse me, mam" I called aloud and watched as she jumped a little and turned around, seeing who I was. She offered a small, simple smile and walked up the the counter.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack" she let out a small chuckle followed by a light coughing fit. But, that was to be expected when you worked in a place like this. You always had to be high alert and never, ever let your guard down. Luckily for this sweet old lady, she was nearly an outsider to the amount of crazy that went on behind the metal doors to the left of us.

"Sorry, I am just here for my keys and name tag" I offered a polite smile. As I was about to tell her my name she cut me off, already beating me to it.

"No problem, Doctor Quinnzel. Welcome aboard." She generously smiled back and handed me exactly what I was asking for. I grabbed it and adjusted it to my lab coat before taking a deep breath and heading to the left.

I pressed the red button near the entrance and stepped back when it made a loud buzzing sound and the doors swung open. I looked down the long, rusted looking hallway before stepping through the doors and finding my way through the corridor.

As I made my way down, I looked at both sides of me, and saw some of the patients locked away in their rooms with their heads pressed tightly against the small opening covered with bars just to get a glimpse at me, letting their curiosity get the best of them.

I smiled at some of the orderlies who were guarding the halls, but only got blank stares back. I don't mind though, i know that they hate their job. I would too if I was underpayed and put in a position on the bottom of the totem pole.

I finally made it to the end of the hall and came across another door. I pressed the button identical to the one on the other side, but from the inside you have to insert your key at the same time to insure that we could only get in, but the patients had no way of getting out. But with the high tech security systems and the armed orderlies among that, I didn't believe that was possible.

Once on the other side, I was met by Mr Arkham, the owner of the facility. He was middle aged and quite handsome. He had brownish black hair and little specks of gray hair in his stubble.

He smiled at me, showing off his pearly white teeth. He then reached out to shake my hand which I willingly met him half way, engaging in the contact.

"Doctor Harleen Quinzel... it's nice to finally meet you" he said, releasing my hard from his firm grip. I gave him a soft smile back, "like wise, Mr. Arkham"

"Oh, please, call my Andrew" he insisted, obviously not very fond of being called in such a formal manner. I smiled and nodded my head, showing that I would from now on. All of a sudden he got more serious than he was just a few seconds ago.

"So, before we go in, I just wanted to go over a few things with you" he started, and I nodded in a agreement. I was prepared for anything that he was about to throw my way.

"Alright, first of all, I have no doubt in my mind that you are the perfect person for the job. I've heard about you from a few of my finest colleagues, and I have done some of my own research as well" he started, and paused to make sure I was listening. Once he saw that I was staring at him intensely, taking in every word he said thoughtfully, he continued.

"I'm sure you have heard what the clown is capable of, seen the papers, even the news. More so after I had called you and offered you the position on this case" once I nodded, proving his theory right, he went on. "He's not not in his right state of mind, Doctor Quinzel, mentally or physically."

"He uh, he killed his last three Doctors, because of the minor things they had said, obviously things that he didn't like" he cleared his throat. I froze a little, even more terrified than I already was. He then quickly added, "but there is nothing to worry about now. We have added more bugs in the system and high lance security. Even restraints and a straight jacket for when he's not in his cell."

I felt a little better about myself after he explained that it would be nearly impossible for him to hurt me, more importantly kill me like he had the others.

"I'm going to go in the first session with you, to make sure everything goes through smoothly the first time. Then, after that you are on your own. Any questions before we go?" He wondered, and I shook my head no.

I took a deep breath, grasping the doorknob into my right palm. I was scared as hell, but that wasn't going to stop me. I worked hard to be where I am and nothing was going to get in the way of that. It was an honor to be able to work with the most notorious criminal of Gotham city, and I am not going to take that for granted.


End file.
